Day 58 - Asparagus Pepper Pasta

Thursday was kind of a "its almost the end of the week and we are out of money until tomorrow so shopping is limited to the fridge, pantry, and freezer" day. But I'd purchased asparagus and a 3-pack of colored bell peppers earlier in the week, so it wasn't too much of a stretch to put this dinner together.

Asparagus Pepper Pasta

• 1 lb asparagus spears
• 1 yellow bell pepper, seeded and cut into strips
• 1 head of broccoli, cut into small florets
• 6 (yes 6!) cloves of garlic, pressed
• salt and pepper to taste
• 4 tbsp olive oil
• 1 lb penne pasta

1. Prepare pasta according to package directions. Cut asparagus into 1-inch pieces.
2. Heat olive oil in large saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic and cook until slightly golden. Add asparagus, broccoli, and bell pepper and saute until asparagus is crisp-tender. Add salt and pepper.
3. Serve over penne pasta.

This is so, so easy! And quick. Oh, and yummy!

Day 58 - Weigh In

186.6

Perhaps that plateau is in the past?

Day 56 - Veggie Sloppy Joes

This is actually from Tuesday, which was a really busy day. Not only did we have school, but I had my weekly newspaper meeting and a story to cover at the ball fields that evening. I was supposed to drop Steven off at baseball practice, and I had Bunko. So a crockpot meal was in order. While I was waiting to pick Steven up from Jazz Band, I bookmarked a couple of recipes in 2 of my crockpot cookbooks (Lazy Day Cooking and Best Loved Slow Cooker Recipes). I figured I could vegetize some of them, although there were a lot there were pretty much already veggie. When Steven got out of band, I let him choose which one before we headed to the store, and of course he chose Sloppy Joes.

I plan on looking for a completely veggie sloppy joe recipe, but this works in a pinch. It might even be better if you rehydrate your own TVP--at the very least it would be cheaper. But I have to travel to Vegas for that, so I am stuck with the veggie crumbles at my local store (and as a side note, the veggie crumbles in the produce section are $1 cheaper than the frozen ones!).

Veggie Sloppy Joes (1)

• 3 (12 oz) pkgs veggie crumbles
• 1(12 oz) pkg leftover veggie breakfast sausage (hey--it was about 8 oz worth, and I knew it wouldn't get used for anything else!)
• 3 cloves garlic, pressed
• 1 1/4 cups ketchup
• 1 large red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1/4 cup + 1 tbsp veggie Worcestershire sauce
• 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 3 tbsp prepared yellow mustard
• 3 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 2 tsp chili powder
• hamburger buns

1. Spray large (12") pan with cooking spray. Crumble in veggie sausage and cook til brown. Add veggie crumbles and cook until brown.
2. In crockpot, combine ketchup, bell pepper, onion, worcestershire sauce, sugar, mustard, vinegar, and chili powder. Stir in veggie crumble mixture. Cover and cook on low (ummmm...my crockpot cooks really hot on low, so for 3-4 hours, but crockpots really differ. The original recipe calls for 6-8 hours).
3. Serve on hamburger buns.

This really makes a lot, so don't be afraid to freeze the leftovers. It is really handy to have frozen meals available, especially since veggie frozen meals (convenience type, I mean) are so darned expensive!

Day 56 - Weigh In

185.6

Perhaps this means I'm past this plateau? I sure hope so!

Day 53 - Tacheen for Breakfast

You might have seen how much of this we had leftover...there is a lot. And I was intrigued by what the Iranians call "Tadig". Tadig is the crusty rice formed at the bottom of the pan--which you can either fry, or, well...I'm not really sure of all the ways that it can be made. But I do know that it is quite popular with those of Persian descent.

So for breakfast I put a bit of olive oil in my small (8-inch) pan, scooped some Tacheen into the pan, and smushed it all down. And let it cook until it was crispy (over medium-high) heat. I ate it with a fried egg atop the whole mess.

And it was yummy.